A decision on the future of the Reitz men’s residence at the University of the Free State (UFS) would be taken at a council meeting on June 6, acting rector Professor Teuns Verschoor said on Wednesday.
”The outcome will take into account the submissions received from persons on whom this decision will have a direct impact, as well as the submissions from other stakeholders,” Verschoor said.
”This includes current students in Reitz, their parents and the present staff of Reitz.”
Reitz was at the centre of a storm earlier this year when a racist video made by former students at the hostel sparked a national outcry.
The video featured black university employees on their knees eating food that had apparently been urinated on by a white student.
It also referred negatively to the university’s integration policy for campus residences announced last year.
At an earlier council meeting, a resolution was accepted that the UFS management could investigate closing Reitz and consider its conversion into either a new residence or accommodation facility, or a different type of facility for use by the university.
”The guideline by council was that it should become a beacon of transformation, hope and liberation,” a UFS spokesperson said at the time.
Verschoor said the UFS had in the meantime begun to cooperate with ”knowledgeable external consultants” to provide it with additional capacity.
”The consultants will assist the UFS in identifying the stumbling blocks in the implementation of the residence integration policy and suggest ways to overcome them,” he said in a statement.
They would also make recommendations on how to accelerate the university’s transformation and integration processes.
The consultants would also be responsible for the management of the ”perception/reputation of the university” in the wake of the damage done to its public image by the video. — Sapa